[Now Closed] Call for Proposals: Grants for Litigation Surgeries

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Call for Proposals: Grants for Litigation Surgeries

Summary

Media Defence is offering one-off project grants to lawyers who have participated in any of our litigation surgeries since 2018. The grants are intended to facilitate the organisation of litigation surgeries in their respective countries of practice.

Objectives

The objectives of these grants are to facilitate the organisation of litigation surgeries for lawyers to strengthen their knowledge of freedom of expression and digital rights, especially in countries and regions in which Media Defence has not yet developed its training programme. The litigation surgeries should be tailored to the needs of the relevant country or region and facilitated by a practising lawyer. They need not follow Media Defence’s structure of litigation surgeries.

Depending on the proposal, we have a budget of between 15K and 20K GBP per grant. The projects will start in January 2025 and will last six months.

The expected outcomes are:

• High-quality litigation surgeries on digital rights and freedom of expression facilitated by lawyers within Media Defence’s network.
• Increased skills and knowledge to litigate using national and international laws as well as regional and international mechanisms relevant to freedom of expression online.
• Development of a national or regional digital rights network and support for its engagement with international legal mechanisms.
• Strengthened working relationships amongst lawyers undertaking such cases.

Media Defence’s training materials are available for use during the litigation surgery, and we will provide capacity building and support throughout the process as needed. 

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants should meet the following criteria:

• The applicant must have attended one of Media Defence’s Digital Rights & Freedom of Expression Litigation Surgeries since 2018.
• The lawyer applying must be a practising lawyer, have experience litigating freedom of expression and digital rights cases and experience facilitating workshops will be an advantage.
• Lawyers working in partnership with other lawyers or organisations are strongly encouraged to apply, provided that at least one applicant has participated in one of Media Defence’s litigation surgeries. Please highlight this in the application form.

Selection process

Depending on the proposals received, preference may be given to:

• Applications aiming to conduct litigation surgeries in languages other than English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese (the current languages of Media Defence’s training programme).
• Proposals with a sustainability plan for the project.
• Projects that ensure regional, age, and gender diversity.
• Applications demonstrating value for money.

Timeline

• Deadline for proposals: 31 August 2024
• Selection of grantees: October 2024
• Finalisation of projects: October-November 2024
• Training of trainers session: November 2024
• Submission of proposals to Media Defence’s Board: December 2024
• Start of grant: January 2025
• End of grant: 30 June 2025

How to apply

Applicants should submit the following application form, which is available also in Spanish, French and Portuguese.